Storage battery.



Patentedaept. 28, 19115.-

2 SHEETS-SHEET l. Zg' E W. A. CHOWDUS.

' STORAGE' BATTERY.

'APPLICATION FILED MAR. l9l4.

-w.UA. CROWDUS. STORAGE BATTERY. y, APPLICATION FILED MAR. 7, 9I`4.

A Patented sept. 28; 1915.

v 2 lSHEETS-SHEETgZ' f4 T l1 prrr earns retrasar onirica.

WALTER A. CROWDUS, 0F CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO ATKINSON, MENTZER & COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINIS.

STORAGE BATTERY.

Specification of Letters Patent.

I ateiited Sept. 2d, 1915.

Application led March 7, 1914. Serial No. 823,127. f

in which the active material, or material toy be rendered active, is mechanically applied to the support-plate or grid, Which is more usually composed of lead oran alloy or' lead and antimony l i In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a section on line'1, Fig. 2, of a storage-battery containing my improvements,

showing a portion of the grid presented unfilled with active material; Fig. 2 is a section on line 2, Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the battery; F ig. 4 is an enlarged section on line l, Fig. 1; Fig. 5 is an enlarged section on line 5, Fig. 1, and Fig. 6 6 is a View like that presented in Fig. 5, but broken and showing a modification.

T lie liai* 7, of any suitable size and material more usually hard rubber) is shown to be provided with vertical internal. seating ribs 8 on its bottom for the grids E). Theseribs in ordinary practice forni a bottomcliamber 10 for lodginent below and ont of contact with the grids of any active material that may drop from them, to thus avoid sliort-circuiting. Each grid comprises a frame containing vertical ribs ll. at inter3 vals between its sidemembers and connecting its top and bottom members, and these ribs are crossed, on both faces of tlie grid., by parallel ribs 12 spaced unifornilykapart along each grid-face, those on the opposite faces being in staggered relation to each other, and this arrangement of ribs forms pockets for confining the active material, or material to be rendered active, 13; all of which describes a known construction of storage-battery element.

On the opposing faces or" tlie grids I provide projections 14. These may be produced in the form most clearly shown in Fig. 5, by .providing tl'ie side-members of tlieztraine and the ribs 11 which are the same as the side-members or' a Width to project their opposite edges beyond the lines of horizontal ribs 12, or, as shown as a modified construction inFig. 6,'by providing the side framemembers and alternate ribs 11 of the aforesaid Width, whereby the opposite members 12 are caused to converge to the edges of the relatively-narroiver ribs 117 thus rendering the opposite grid-races of somewhat undulatory form. It is within my Vinvention to provide the required projections on the opposite grid-faces in any suitable manner, but it is important that they shall be so disposed, vas on the edges-of -vertical ribs, as not to obstruct access of tlie liquid electrolyte, employed in the battery, to thesurface of the material 13, held in the interstices or pockets termed by the ribs. Be-

tyveen each pair of grids (positive and negative), i interpose a thin, ribless diaphragmlike separator' 15 which is confined between the projections and forms between each of its faces and the opposing face of a grid an ample extent of space Yfor circulation of the electrolyte employed. The separator I prefer to use is composed of a thin Wooden sheet chemically treated to remove its contained gums and acids and enhance its porosity; and this vWooden sheet should be placed in position with its grain running horizontally, or crosswise oiitlie ribs 11 to reduce liability' of its coniiiemeiit between the projections on the faces of opposing grids to split the sheet, as the tendency would he Were the grain to run lengthwise or the projections.

Fach grid is provided witlia terminalpost 16, the posts in each of thel two opposite series thereof being connected by a pillovvstrap connector 1?, as usual, having a binding-post' 18. I prefer to cover the upper ends or" the grids with a perforated sheet- 19 Fig. et hard rubber, or the like, fitting si, igly Within the mouth of the jar. to prevent splashing oi the' liquid electrolyte, which may be of any suitable coinposition. i

Providing the support-plates lor grids 9 with projections on their faces enables the use of a ribless, dat-sided separator 15 and positioning it` :iiibdway between the plates, thus atl'erding ample and tree space forthe loiv oi the electrolyte and preventing lowering ot' the acid-density or the latter at the plate-surface of active material by the volume oil the electrolyte between tlie grid and separator, it being a fact Well-known in tlic art tiial: the greater the bulk of the electrolyte in close proximity to the active material, the hetter it will maintain the acid strength wit-hln theI pores ot the active material, which is especially desirable for high discharge rates.

The advantages of my improvement are particularly marked with relation to a con` yverti-al ribs formed, as bygrooving the sheet, on one surface. The separator of this construction necessitates, in its use, that one face ota support-plate or grid be in contact with the entire surface of the fiat side of the separator which prevents the desired action of the electrolyte; theonly spacing produced by this separator-sheet being that of its ribs on one surface forming `grooves for the circulation of the electrolyte in proximity to the active material on the adjacent'grid. On the other hand, in my casethe separator-sheet not only affords the ample circulating space for the electrolyte at'both of the faces, as aforesaid, but being riblessand thus relatively thin, it interposesl the minimum of inert material be- 'tween grids and decreases accordingly the electrical resistance in the cell.

' Vi'hat l claim as new and desire to Secure hy Letters Patent is- 1. In a storage-battery, a couple comprising' positive and negative ribbed grids holding the active material, or material to he rendered active, said grids presentingprojections on their opposite faces, and a onepiece thin wooden separater-forming diaphragm confined by the projections centrally between opposing' grids and having the graiii of the wood extending crosswise of said projections.

2. A storage-battery grid comprising a frame containingA vertical ribs of successively relatively greater and lesser widths and cross-ribs on opposite sides of the frame coiliverging from the opposite eilge-portions of the wider ribs to those of the narrower ribs, said wider ribs forming spacing faceprojections on the grid, for the purpose set forth. c

VALTER A. CROVDUS. In presence (if- A. C. Frscuiin, O. C. Avisos.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents Washington, D. C. 

